NHS doctors missed my cancer which was spotted by Turkish masseuse

Charity worker, 41, whose cancer was spotted during a holiday massage in Turkey was told by British doctors that her tummy pains were just IBS – as she demands better care for women

  • Claire O’Shea, 41, had a grapefruit-sized lump removed after returning home
  • NHS medics initially assured her that her cancer symptoms were benign  

A woman’s cancer was spotted during a holiday massage in Turkey – after previously being misdiagnosed by UK doctors.

Claire O’Shea, 41, had previously been told by doctors the tummy pain she was experiencing was due to irritable bowel syndrome.

But during the treatment at a baths in Istanbul the masseuse spotted the mystery lump and questioned what it was.

Ms O’Shea, a charity worker, said: ‘I knew it wasn’t IBS. When I was in there the woman stopped the massage and in broken English said: “Lady, baby?” thinking I was pregnant.

Claire O’Shea, a charity worker from Cardiff, pictured, was told by her GP that her incurable cancer was irritable bowel syndrome

Ms O’Shea, was in Turkey on holiday when her masseuse noticed a lump in her stomach 

‘I went white. I knew I wasn’t pregnant but it all became very apparent to me then that the lump was, actually, probably in my reproductive organs.

‘I remember talking to my friends like: “My God. How is a Turkish masseuse doing a better job of telling me what’s wrong with me than my GP has for months?”

Despite having a scan when she returned home doctors continued to insist she was suffering from benign fibroids and showed no urgency towards her.

It was only when eight months later medics removed a lump the size of a grapefruit that she was diagnosed with an incurable gynaecological cancer.

Ms O’Shea, of Cardiff, spoke out after a government health committee found women’s cancer concerns are ‘dismissed, downplayed and unheard’.

She said: ‘There has to be something dramatic to change women’s experiences.

‘The prognosis is generally only 12 to 18 months because it’s so rare, there’s not a lot of research into it and women generally get diagnosed later.’

Ms O’Shea’s cancer spread to her liver, lungs and hip bone and she has undergone a hysterectomy and six cycles of chemotherapy

Eight months after returning from Turkey, surgeons removed a grapefruit-sized lump

Ms O’Shea’s cancer spread to her liver, lungs and hip bone and she has undergone a hysterectomy and six cycles of chemotherapy.

She said: ‘I’m 12 months clear and feeling quite healthy at the moment, so I’ve outlived my prognosis already, which is promising in a way,’ she said.

‘You can’t live in anger if you don’t know how much longer you have to live, so I’m trying to channel it into raising awareness.

‘In Wales we have a woman who’s a health minister, we have a government who said they want to be the first feminist government and we talk about wanting an equal Wales, but they’re not translating into better care for women.

‘At the moment it feels like there’s a lot of rhetoric and not much that actually changes. There has to be something dramatic to change women’s experiences.’

A Welsh government spokesperson said: ‘It is vital women’s concerns are heard and taken seriously when they go to the NHS for help. The experiences of the women in the report will help us to improve services.

‘Cancer is one of the six planning priorities for the NHS and we are committed to improving cancer outcomes. We have introduced targeted support for gynaecological cancer services and are providing GPs with supportive tools for referral of suspected cancer.

‘We welcome this report from the committee and will respond to the recommendations in due course.’

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